


The Hospital

by BadLuckBlueEyes



Series: Snapshots 'Verse [6]
Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blind Character, Blindness, Cameras, Canon Compliant, Canon Disabled Character, Gen, Hospitals, Jack is a good dad, Other, Photos, give him credit he's trying, sometimes he's a dick though, the first half is canon and the second half isn't, this one is both canon compliant and slightly au so I'm tagging it as both
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-14
Updated: 2015-08-14
Packaged: 2018-04-14 15:17:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4569369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadLuckBlueEyes/pseuds/BadLuckBlueEyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part six of Snapshots, in which Matt wakes up in the hospital.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hospital

When Matt finally woke up, Jack was waiting at his side. He was there when ambulance took Matt away. He stayed with his son, watching nervously while Matt went quiet and the paramedics yelled at each other. Matt was whisked away the second they got to the hospital and Jack was forced to wait, anxious and angry. He sat for hours, stewing, wanted to punch something, torn between grief and rage. 

At first the doctors had said that his eyes were damaged from the chemicals. A little while later they confirmed that there was irreversible damage. One of them wasn’t sure if Matt had brain damage or not. Jack had nodded dumbly and let them lead him to Matt’s room, where he sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair and waited for his kid to wake up. 

Hours later, Matt had twitched in his sleep, and Jack was immediately on alert. Then Matt woke up, panicking and disoriented, clawing at the bandages on his eyes, and Jack was ready. 

“I can’t see.” Matt repeated the mantra he had started earlier. Jack took Matt’s hands, speaking urgently, trying to make sure Matt knew it was him. 

“Matt, Matty, it’s me. It’s dad, I’m right here.” he said, making gentle shushing noises. 

“I can’t see.” Matt said again and Jack put his hands on both sides of Matt’s face. 

“You were in an accident, you remember? You’re in the hospital, but I’m right here with you.” still, Matt grew hysterical, shaking his head back and forth. 

“Everything- everything’s so loud.” Jack shushed him again, speaking gently. 

“I’m right here with you. It’s daddy.” he paused for a split second, grabbing Matt’s hands. “Here, feel my face. Feel my face.” he spoke quickly, trying to keep Matt’s attention. “I’m right here. I’m right here. Everything’s going to be okay.” 

“I can’t see.” Matt’s hysterics were slowing and he was starting to relax. 

“It’s all right. It’s okay.” he said desperately, knowing that Matt would pick up on the small hitch in his voice. 

“I can’t see.” his voice was small, broken. 

“It’s all right, Matt.” 

“Dad, I can’t see. I can’t-” 

“It’s all right.” 

Jack straightened, taking Matt’s hands in his own again when his son panicked again at his sudden disappearance. 

“It’s all right.” he said again, more for himself than for Matt. 

Matt was quiet for a few minutes, overwhelmed by how loud everything seemed. 

“Am I going to see?” he asked quietly, a few minutes later. Jack started to shake his head before catching himself. 

“No, Matty. The doctors said your eyes were too badly burned by the chemicals.” Matt’s breathing hitched, picking up again as he headed towards panic. 

“I’m blind?” 

“Matty, Matty, listen to me.” he said, more harsh than he wanted to sound. “When I say it’s going to be all right, I promise you it’s going to be all right.” 

“Dad, I’m blind!” 

“I know.” God, he wanted to punch something. Hard. “I promise you we’re going to get through it together. I swear it, we’ll be okay.” 

*** 

When Jack brought the camera to the hospital two days later, Matt thought that his father had lost his mind. 

“You brought the camera? When I can’t even see the pictures anymore?” 

“This one is just for me.” Jack said quietly. “I’m not excluding anything from the albums.” Matt flipped off the camera in response and Jack took the picture. He couldn’t really blame Matt for being angry, and a part of him wondered if that picture was not the best one to take. 

A moment later, Jack noticed that Matt was quietly sniffling and rushed to his side. 

“Are you okay? What hurts?” Jack looked at Matt’s bandaged face, as if he could see something immediately wrong. 

“Nothing.” Matt said, his voice cracking. 

“Don’t lie.” Jack said sternly, sitting down and smoothing back Matt’s hair. “Tell me what’s wrong.” 

“I won’t be able to see the pictures anymore.” Matt started to cry harder, and Jack felt like a dick for bringing the camera with him. 

“Hey, hey.” he said quietly, still rubbing Matt’s head. “Matty, don’t cry. The photos don’t really matter anyway.” 

“Yes they do.” Matt protested. “You’re always telling me that I’ll look back on them to remember things.” 

“And _you’re_ always telling me that you don’t need the photos because you remember things. You’ve got a way better memory than I do and we both know it, you’ve never needed those photos.” 

“But they were ours.” Jack was silent for a moment, processing what Matt had said before speaking again. 

“Matty, everything we do is ours, that goes beyond the photos. You know that. It’s always just us. You never needed the photos like I did.” 

“But I liked them.” Matt finally admitted. Jack wished that the victory of getting Matt to admit that he liked the photos didn’t feel so hollow. 

“That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy them anymore.” Jack said, drawing back, taking Matt’s hand when his son reached for him. “We’ll figure out a way to share them. I promise.” 

“But I won’t be able to see them.” 

“So?” 

“They’re photos. They're flat, there's nothing I can do to feel what's on them.” 

“Didn’t I just tell you that we were going to figure it out?” Matt sighed and nodded, calming down and falling asleep a few minutes later. Jack left briefly to bring the camera home, not intending to bring it to the hospital again. 

*** 

Someone, somehow, got Jack the photos he had dropped at the site of the accident. His name was on the envelope, which made it easier to find him, he supposed. They were on the floor, slid under the door to his apartment, the envelope still intact. 

When Jack found them after stepping on them, he had stooped to pick them up and opened them again. He looked through the photos of Matt posing in front of one of the Yale buildings, eating pizza, and reading on the train. When he got to the photo of Matt reading on the train, something inside of Jack snapped. He dropped the photos on the table, everything going red around the edges. 

He found himself at the gym, beating the shit out of a punching bag, attacking it with everything he had until his knuckles were raw and bloody. When he couldn't throw another punch, he sank to the ground, crying. He stayed there for a few minutes before packing up and going off to the showers and heading back to the hospital. His son needed him, and he would be there for him for as long as he could be.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to J for the beta read, hope you enjoyed reading!
> 
> Also, Foggy is coming soon, I promise it's not just Matt and Jack the whole time.


End file.
